Press Releases

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The Democratic Progressive Party held its 17th Chairperson Inauguration Ceremony today(18th). The full text of Chairperson William Lai's (Lai Ching-te) inauguration address is as follows:

Acting Chairperson Chen Chi-mai, supervisor and member of the Arbitration Committee Liao Fu-te, DPP Legislative Caucus Whip Ker Chien-ming, Chairperson of the Central Evaluation Committee Lai Jui-lung, members of the Central Standing Committee, Central Executive Committee, Central Evaluation Committee, all party members, and people watching the TV and online livestream, and all fellow citizens who care about the DPP, good afternoon!

Today, with a feeling of vigilance and caution, I took over as the 17th chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party, officially shouldering the important responsibility of regrouping the DPP and taking the party in a new direction forward.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all fellow party members who elected me as Chairperson in last week’s by-election. This includes predecessors who founded the party as well as young party members, regardless of gender or region. I will always remind myself of your deepest expectations for me carried by every vote.

I would also like to thank all those who were willing to offer genuine criticism and suggestions during our public meetings on party reform across Taiwan. You have all spoken truthfully and you have spoken from your hearts, with deep love and serious responsibility. Your advice demonstrated high expectations for the DPP to engage in comprehensive reforms and once again shoulder its responsibility for Taiwan.

Every vote and piece of advice of yours provides momentum for the DPP to revive. I cherish your support and I feel grateful. I will do my best to live up to your expectations.

Here, I would also like to thank Acting Chairperson Chen Chi-mai, who quickly assumed the position after the elections, stabilizing the party and completing the by-election of the party chairperson smoothly, enabling the party to continue dialogue with all sectors of society.

Let's give our warmest applause to the Acting Chairperson Chen Chi-mai, and also to the colleagues in our party headquarters and local chapters for their hard work.

Since the DPP returned to power in 2016, I have been lucky to participate in the DPP administration in different roles. I feel honored when we win the public’s support, and I also reflect deeply when we face setbacks.

As I previously mentioned, the results of the nine-in-one elections is like a “canary in the coal mine,” as it can be seen as a warning from the public. We must sincerely accept the election results of defeat and criticism from all sides, as well as reflect on our own shortcomings. We must not lose faith because of failure, but rather learn lessons from it; we must honestly face the shortcomings of the DPP to reflect and improve. We must become stronger through overcoming hardships.

In particular, as the ruling party, the DPP must set an example in politics. We must realize that people have higher expectations of us, and they will test us with stricter standards. We must use concrete actions to respond to society's expectations to win back the public's trust and start anew.

Therefore, I solemnly announce that I will lead all party members and combine the strengths of all sectors of society to complete one mission, two tasks, and four party reforms!

First, we should actively push forward four party reforms to repolish DPP's banners of "Political Integrity, Diligence, and Love of the Land" as well as "DPP Governance, Quality Assurance.”

Our first reform is eliminating “black gold” (political corruption) and tackling problems relating to academic ethics. For the ruling party, the law is only the most basic standard, but we have to hold ourselves to even higher standards if we want to meet the expectations of society.

Therefore, for anyone or anything related to “black gold,” the DPP will take decisive actions to strictly enforce party discipline, implement anti-gang provisions and clean government regulations, and ultimately solve the impact of “black gold” on the values and reputation of the DPP!

We must also establish a system based on the principle of honesty to examine the academic ethics of our party’s candidates and require everyone working in politics to face it with honesty, in order to inspire support from the people with truthfulness and ability.

The second reform is to use democratic principles to recruit new talent: using fair, just, and open mechanisms to expand talent recruitment. Furthermore, we must unite the DPP using democratic principles.

Since the founding of the DPP, it has embraced the free airing of views, allowed internal competition but displayed solidarity against external challenges. Democracy is the most critical principle in the talent selection mechanism of a democratic party. Unity means not being afraid of competition, as competition can lead to greater unity. Internal competition is the nutrient that helps the party thrive. We will improve the party’s internal mechanisms and use democratic principles to respond to public expectations.

Our third reform is to restore the DPP's diverse base of support. The ruling party must take notice of diverse voices, listen with humility to differing viewpoints. As a ruling party, the DPP cannot be averse to criticism. Constructive, helpful comments based on truth are never taboo.

The DPP will do our best to expand social dialogue and connections, listen to different opinions, and serve as a platform for connecting society: a bridge between the administration and society.

As the party chairperson, I would also like to implore all supporters to join us by stepping out of our comfort zone and accepting opinions from all sides. We will regain more friends and gather more forces aspiring for a better Taiwan.

The fourth reform is to respond to the younger generation's demands: In this election, we lost the support of many young friends. We must respond to value-based issues more actively and must effectively address livelihood problems that our young friends care most about.

Therefore, I will invite more young people from various fields and even different political backgrounds to participate in working groups, and plan a mechanism to expand mutual communication and understanding. These mechanisms will address issues such as housing justice, low wages, and intergenerational justice, etc. to carry out reform proposals and also serve as a reference to governance.

At the same time, cultivating young talents is the key to the survival of a political party. As a political party that values young talents, the DPP needs to establish better empowerment mechanisms and encourage the younger generation to go deep into the grassroots and strive for opportunities to serve the people. Regardless of whether they serve as a party staffer or public servant, our team will become a channel for receiving diverse opinions, rather than merely one for distributing information.

These four reforms are not only necessary corrections for our past shortcomings but also necessary actions for us to move on towards the future.

Next, we should accomplish two tasks: "Unity and perseverance for Taiwan" and "proposing a vision for the country."

As the party's chairperson, I will do my best to unite the party and integrate all voices that look forward to Taiwan's democracy and progress. Regardless of whether we have held different opinions in the past, these differences will not, and should not, become an obstacle to our unity.

In addition, we must establish a party culture that places national interests first and devote all our efforts towards expanding unity and winning the support of the people. Since the founding of the DPP, the party has entered its 37th year. We have experienced glory and pride when we were in power, and we have also experienced frustration after suffering defeats in elections.

Along the way, what remains unchanged is that glory cannot make us proud and arrogant, and setbacks must not make us disheartened.

After every single defeat, we have always been able to unite and convince the people of Taiwan with our actions. The DPP remains a political party full of resilience and willingness to fight for the realization of ideals. We will ensure unity and perseverance for Taiwan.

Meanwhile, we must show the public that the DPP is a responsible party that shows the courage to build Taiwan's future.

In 2011, incumbent Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen proposed the “Ten-Year Policy Platform” as a governance blueprint for national development, by fostering collaboration with all social sectors. More than ten years later, Taiwan has experienced considerable changes in our general environment and overall socio-economic structure.

We must put forward a new national vision and convince the people once again that the DPP is a capable, responsible party with a vision for the future.

Therefore, I will ask the DPP Headquarters and the New Frontier Foundation to forge a consensus from all sectors of society and engage in the most rigorous discussions to propose a blueprint for Taiwan's future.

Moreover, I hope that everyone will work together to fulfill the new mission of the DPP, which is to safeguard Taiwan and promote democracy, peace, and prosperity.

Founded in the authoritarian era on September 28, 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party is the first local political party formed in Taiwan. The mission of the DPP is to fight for Taiwan.

Over the years, the DPP has combined forces from all walks of life in Taiwan to lift the bans on the establishment of political parties and on the press, amending Article 100 of the criminal code, striving for complete freedom of expression. The DPP pushed for a complete re-election of all congressional representatives and direct presidential elections, which led to Taiwan's democratic development and the nation's progress and prosperity.

In the past, the goal pursued by the DPP was democracy, standing up against KMT's autocracy and authoritarianism. At present, in the face of the threat of China, our new mission is to safeguard Taiwan, and enhance Taiwan's democracy, peace and prosperity.

Our concrete goals are to boost the economy, improve the people’s livelihoods, strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities, and maintain peace. As the saying goes, “Bread is the staff of life.” Boosting the economy is our top priority, if our economy performs well and the people’s lives are prosperous, our people will have the strength to defend the nation.

In the future, the DPP must continue to create a responsible industrial development blueprint to meet the country’s needs, and the fruits of economic growth should be shared by all people, while taking into account people’s livelihoods without excluding any societal groups. More importantly, we should address the gap between rich and poor people to facilitate the creation of a tolerant and harmonious society.

Peace is a common hope for everyone. Peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and across the Taiwan Strait are not only in the interests of all countries around the world, but also the key to continued prosperity and development of countries in the region, including both sides of the Taiwan Strait; it is also a common aspiration for everyone in the region. I believe that it is also the common hope of people on both sides of the Strait.

However, the expansion of China’s authoritarianism has not only posed a threat to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but it is also an issue that the whole world must face seriously.

The DPP advocates that Taiwan should actively cooperate with like-minded partners and work together to maintain regional peace and stability, with a clear understanding that appeasement will not bring peace. Only by uniting all people and strengthening our defense capabilities can we protect our own security. In other words, “Peace depends on national defense, and national defense depends on the people.”

We want to emphasize that the international community will not support any actions that unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait or actions that undermine regional peace and stability.

Under my leadership, the DPP will continue to stand firm behind the “Four Commitments,” i.e., the commitment to a free and democratic constitutional system, the commitment that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China should not be subordinate to each other, the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty, and the commitment that the future of the Republic of China (Taiwan) must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people. We will devote our utmost efforts to maintain the status quo of regional peace and stability.

Today, we will work hard to achieve these goals, so please stand united. In addition, I would like to share with you that I invited Hsu Lee-ming, the former acting mayor of Kaohsiung City, to serve as the party's secretary-general, and Hsu Chia-tien, Yang Yi-shan, and Huang Jian-jia, three outstanding talents from the younger generation, to serve as the party's deputy secretary-generals.

They are experienced and they have worked in central and local government agencies. We will combine forces across generations and different fields to keep the DPP moving forward. Please encourage them in their tasks.

For the DPP to make great strides forward, it needs support from both inside and outside the party. I urge all party members and all our citizens to continue to give the DPP advice and suggestions. The DPP has the determination and potential to shoulder responsibilities in building a democratic, peaceful, prosperous Taiwan!